


The thought of Spring and your return is safe within my Heart

by ShineBrightStarLight



Series: August Writer's Month 2019 [18]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal Death, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith is a college student, Kosmo as cerberus, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mythology - Freeform, Shiro (Voltron) as Hades
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 19:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20314717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShineBrightStarLight/pseuds/ShineBrightStarLight
Summary: “Let me get this straight,” Keith snorted at his own joke but continued on. “You want me to marry you, become Queen of the Underworld and also goddess of summer?”The man before him winced. “It seems ridiculous when you put it that way, but essentially, yes.”“Right. Well, it was nice talking to you. Please don’t contact me again.” Keith closed the door in the man’s face, and sighed. He didn’t know where the hell the guy got off with a prank like that, but it wasn’t the first time he had tried. Usually, Keith ran the moment he saw him, but this time he heard him out. Maybe the guy would leave him alone now.For Day 19 of Writer's Month; trope prompt; mythology





	The thought of Spring and your return is safe within my Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't research any mythology, just tried to remember what I read from my Percy Jackson obsessed phase. Please forgive me if there are obvious mistakes, of which there are probably many. 
> 
> This was inspired by a tumblr post I saw a while ago, but it got lost in the void and I can't find it anymore. 
> 
> Title is from 'Persephone' by Jo Neale, I think anyway. I couldn't find too much on it besides a video on youtube.

“Let me get this straight,” Keith snorted at his own joke but continued on. “You want me to marry you, become Queen of the Underworld and also goddess of summer?” 

The man before him winced. “It seems ridiculous when you put it that way, but essentially, yes.” 

“Right. Well, it was nice talking to you. Please don’t contact me again.” Keith closed the door in the man’s face, and sighed. He didn’t know where the hell the guy got off with a prank like that, but it wasn’t the first time he had tried. Usually, Keith ran the moment he saw him, but this time he heard him out. Maybe the guy would leave him alone now. 

Keith turned his attention back to his essay. Professor Slav had surprised them with an essay that was due in two days. Keith was trying his hardest to keep up with the workload, but that guy is a maniac. He stopped Keith on his way into his very first class and proclaimed that Keith was a veteran, who flew a mechanical lion in a space war in another reality. Needless to say, Keith hadn’t enjoyed the man’s class.

Over the next few days, increasingly strange things happened. Keith swore he saw a three headed dog while he was running to his next class, but he was already late and couldn’t stop to check. It was probably the sleep deprivation anyway.

Flowers sprung on the immaculate lawn in the courtyard. Overnight. They were most concentrated where Keith usually spent time studying with his ‘friends’ (they were barely acquaintances who shared a few classes). They were fully bloomed and beautiful. The botany students swore that some of them shouldn’t have been able to survive in their climate, but they did. Every time the caretakers cut them back, they would reappear as though by magic. 

Keith sometimes saw the man from the corner of his eye, but he never made contact. Despite the stalkerish behaviour, Keith never felt like his safety was threatened. For some bizarre reason, Keith trusted the man, even though he had no reason to. Hell, he probably should have reported him to the police weeks ago. 

But the man seemed lonely. And, well, Keith knew that feeling. 

One day, he caught sight of the man hiding underneath a ridiculously large, black umbrella. It wasn’t even raining. Keith huffed, and approached him. 

“How do I know you are speaking the truth?” he asked, once he was close enough. The man’s startled and sheepish expression was surprisingly endearing. When he gave no reply, Keith repeated himself. 

“I can show you, if you’d like,” he replied. He held out a hand to Keith, who took it without hesitation. His leather gloves were smooth and warm to the touch. The courtyard around them vanished, only for Keith to land in a dimly lit room. Ahead of him sat a throne, made of cool dark metal. 

“This is where I spend most of my time,” a warm voice said from beside him. Keith turned, and barely concealed a gasp. The man beside him looked like, well, a god. His hair was snow white and sparkled in the candlelight. His eyes were a warm grey, with laughter lines adoring them. They were kind. He had a scar cutting across his nose, but rather then make him look intimidating or unapproachable, it only heightened his attractiveness.

Somehow, Keith had never seen him – actually seen him – before. He tried to think back to every past encounter, but the man was always so nondescript. 

“I use a glamour while I’m in the mortal world,” the man says, as though reading Keith’s mind. Keith wasn’t quite sure what that was but doesn’t want to ask. 

“What do you do here?” he asks instead, wandering closer to the throne. The walls are covered in mosaics, images of people’s death and acceptance into what Keith can only presume is the underworld. 

“I judge people on their lives, and decide where they shall spend eternity,” the man replies. He hasn’t moved from his spot, watching as Keith runs his fingers over his throne. It is surprisingly warmer than he thought. 

“And what would I do? As your… wife?” 

“Keep me company, mainly. But you would be free to do whatever you please.” 

Keith thought it over. He was failing college. He couldn’t hold a job down, and with each early dismissal, it made it harder to be hired by someone else. He had no family or friends to speak of. Nobody would miss him. “And why me? Out of everyone in the entire world, why me?”

The man doesn’t answer for a long minute, and Keith is prepared to leave. 

“I saw you once, many years ago. Thanatos required help collecting souls, and I went up to the mortal world with him. There was an accident. And you were there. I remember watching you cry as this event took everything from you. And you-” 

“I cradled my dying dog in my arms and comforted him. He was terrified by all the noise, the pain, the confusion. I just wanted him to die peacefully. It was too late for my family,” Keith remembered. How could he forget? Tears gather in Keith’s eyes. The man walked closer, a hand held out as though to touch.

“Yes,” the man whispered, “I knew you were someone special then. So, I watched you. I watched you move through foster homes. I watched you protect the weak and vulnerable, even at the loss of your own safety. I watched you save that girl in the alleyway your first month of college. And I fell in love with you.” 

“I don’t even know your name,” Keith whispered. The mans hand landed on his cheek, softly caressing it. He wiped the tears away. Keith leaned into it.

The man smiled, “Shiro, but for you Takashi.” 

“I don’t love you. Not yet, but I think I could learn to. I’m willing to give you a chance.” Keith said, looking up at Takashi. 

“That’s all I’ll ever ask for.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about the abruptness of that last bit, I couldn't figure out a way to naturally let this draw to a close, and I don't really have the time to figure it out. Hope you enjoyed regardless! 
> 
> Here are some notes on worldbuilding that I have: I'm thinking that Zeus or Hades etc are more titles than actual names. Each god/dess has an extended life span, yes, but they don't live forever. They pass their mantles down to a new generation every couple of hundred years. So, Shiro is Hades, god of the underworld, but it's a title. He is not the original Hades. 
> 
> I'm thinking the Persephone died around the same time the previous Hades did, and Shiro has been alone for some time now. 
> 
> The rest of the paladins are probably gods too, Lance as Apollo, Hunk as Hephaestus, Pidge as Athena, Allura as Hecate. Not sure about Coran though.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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